G.I. Combat Vol 1 255
** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * Gina Antagonists: * German pilot * German Infantry soldiers Other Characters: * Captain J.J. Jamison "Skipper" * Lieutenant Walker * Gina's mother * Gina's father * Italian villagers * Italian nurse * Italian priest Locations: * Sanremo, Items: * Holy medal * Rick's dog tags Vehicles: * * Panzerkampfwagen IV * German Heinkel He 219 Uhu night fighter | StoryTitle2 = O.S.S.: "The Suicide Soldiers" | Synopsis2 = Summoned to the London offices of the super-spy agency O.S.S, Kana walks along the banks of the Thames when he is harassed by a group of British sailors. They attack, but Kana makes quick with them using his ninja skills. The sailors back off, respecting Kana after he took them down without even shedding one emotion. Inside the office, Control and a high ranking British official debate whether Kana should remain on duty, or be thrown into prison for failing his last mission to assassinate the Japanese Emperor. His new mission is to travel to Kiriki Island in the south Pacific to find and destroy the Japanese's new mysterious weapon, the "Divine Wind". Intelligence tells them that they plan on using whatever it is in 72 hours on Okinawa. Control gives Kana one last chance to redeem himself, or never return. Two nights later, kana is dropped off in the area of Kiriki Island by an American submarine. Immediately upon walking onto the shore he is spotted by a Japanese beach patrol and chased by truck. Kana, using his acrobatic skills, leaps aboard the truck and kills the driver, sending the truck driving over the embankment and into the ocean. Kana quickly dons the uniform of one of the dead Japanese and heads for the enemy airfield a few miles inland. Impersonating a newly arrived pilot, Kana enters the island's C.O.'s office and waits. One other pilot is there ahead of him, a young man named Ota, who reveals that he has only flown three hours solo. Kana pities him, for he won't have a chance against American pilots in the air with his inexperience. Then, Kana approaches the officer and is told that their mission begins with briefing at dawn tomorrow. Kana presents him with his credentials that show him as a veteran of thirty-five missions, and the commanding officer elects Kana to lead the squadron of fledglings in Operation Divine Wind. Later, in his quarters, Kana is presented with a good-luck scarf bearing the signatures of their countrymen wishing them well. Shortly before dawn, cups of sake are given to the young pilots in the field. At the briefing, the C.O. reveals that the young pilots will be the Japan's secret weapon - the first Kamikaze pilots to attack Okinawa. They will dive into the American aircraft carriers with their bombs attached to their planes, smashing the Americans like the divine wind - Banzai. As Kana climbs aboard his plane, he notices that he has only enough fuel to reach Okinawa, and that the parachute is missing. This is a one-way trip. The squadron takes off into the air with Kana leading them, heading for their target. Kana leads them away from the American task force and towards the Japanese submarine force. Before he can continue, Kana is attacked by Ota, who has finally realized what is happening. Kana pulls his plane into a screaming climb, then looping around fires at the rear of his squadron and causing the bomb-laden Zero planes to explode into flame. His Japanese squadron is defeated, but Kana's plane is spotted by a group of American navy pilots who begin to fire on him. With no radio to identify himself as a friend, Kana feigns death by sending his plane into a downward spin away from the attackers. Kana is unable to pull out of his spin, and the plane crashes into the Pacific waters. As Kana surfaces, he finds that another of his squadron had survived his attack - Ota! Kana warns Ota to be careful in the water, but Ota doesn't heed his warnings and jumps into the mouth of a nearby great white shark. Kana realizes that Ota had committed suicide to wipe out the shame of being defeated, the only honor left for the young pilot. Finally, Kana is picked up by one of the American ships in the area and brought aboard. Kana watches as the American planes finish off the remaining Kamikaze pilots in the air. But while the Japanese raid has been defeated like the setting sun, Kana knows that the sun always rises again... | Editor2_1 = Murray Boltinoff | Writer2_1 = Robert Kanigher | Penciler2_1 = E.R. Cruz | Inker2_1 = | Colourist2_1 = | Letterer2_1 = | Appearing2 = Featured Characters: * ** * Supporting Characters: * Antagonists: * Japanese Infantry soldiers * Japanese Commanding officer * Pilot Ota Other Characters: * American Government official * O.S.S. agents * American Carrier captain Locations: * Kiriki Island, Sea of Japan Vehicles: * US Submarine "Swordfish" * Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft * American aircraft carrier | StoryTitle3 = The Non-Combat Commando | Synopsis3 = July, 1944. Somewhere in the North Atlantic, an American battlecruiser is attacked by a German sub. Below decks, when the rest of the men are rushing to get topside during the attacks. Sgt. Hennessy remains in his bunk cleaning his rifle. After the attack, he is called into captain's office, who informs him that their supply officer had been killed in the attack and that he would be taking his place. He argues, telling the captain that even though his father owned a general store, he had joined the army to get away from exactly that kind of work. Left with no choice, Hennessy accepts the job after being ordered by the captain. He then takes his anger out on his fellow soldiers, who kid him about being forced to take a desk job. As soon as the ship lands, orders come for the troops to move up to the front. Hennessy is introduced to his men, a lazy bunch who would rather lie around than take care of a bunch of crates. He orders them to get to work in securing and guarding the supplies, telling them that since they've been forced to be storekeeps they'll be the best storekeeps in the army. He orders his men to cover all the empty gas drums with camouflage, and places a guard on duty at the medical supply shack. Then, they supply depot is attacked by a German plane from above. The plane attacks the camouflaged gas drums just as Hennessy expected, which were all empty and used as a decoy to avert attention from the actual ones. After the attack, the men find the guard at the shack, Private Mancuso, shot in the chest and spot a red truck speeding away from the camp. Suspecting Black Marketeers have stolen the penicillin supply, Hennessy jumps into a nearby jeep and pursues them. He reaches the truck and, moving up alongside them, jumps over and punches the driver out. The truck speeds off the road and crashes into the side of a barn. With the penicillin recovered and safe, word comes through on the radio that the Nazis have broke through the lines and are attacking. The supply trucks that Hennessy had sent to the lines six hours before never arrived. Hennessy suspects that they had turned around like cowards, and shortly after the convoy pulls back into camp. Hennessy personally takes change of the convoy and they head out again for the front lines. They head right into the center of the action, but the first time the trucks are shot at some of them men jump off and start to run. Hennessy shouts at them, ordering them back to the trucks after telling them that the men on the line need these supplies. He has the convoy turn into the trees for extra cover, but the first truck is hit by cannon fire. The men quickly unload the supplies from it onto another truck. Meanwhile on the front line, just as the captain begins to worry that the supplies won't show up, he hears the honking of the trucks in the distance as they pull up to the lines. After unloading the supplies, Hennessy and his men return to their trucks to head back to headquarters. He takes one last look back, wishing that he could be up fighting the war instead of back behind the lines... minding the store! | Editor3_1 = | Writer3_1 = Arnold Drake | Penciler3_1 = Ernesto Patricio | Inker3_1 = | Colourist3_1 = | Letterer3_1 = | Appearing3 = Featured Characters: * Sergeant Hennessy Supporting Characters: * American Infantry captain Antagonists: * German pilots * Black Market pirateers Other Characters: * Sergeant Linzer * Private Mancuso * American Naval seamen * American Infantry soldiers Locations: * * Items: * Penicillin Vehicles: * American battlecruiser * German U-Boat submarine * American GMC CCKW utility trucks * German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter plane | StoryTitle4 = Haunted Tank: "Dead Letter Office" | Synopsis4 = Captain J.J. Jamison, commander of the artillery company and known by his men as "Skipper", watches as the latest patrol returns back to HQ. At the lead is the Haunted Tank, with Lt. Jeb Stuart in control. Jeb reports their findings to Jamison, telling him that both Lt. Kelly and Lt. Goldman were killed during an ambush. Jamison orders everyone to get some sleep that night, and then returns to his office to file the reports. Sitting down at his desk, Jamison begins to compose the letters for the families of the two officers he has lost. He stops in mid-sentence, staring at the pen in his hand. Lt. Stuart enters the office, ready to give his full report on the mission, but Jamison looses his temper, tired of writing letters to loved ones when he wasn't even there when the men died. As the days go by he Capt. Jamison sinks even deeper into depression as he watches his men go out on mission after mission. He waits for their return, hoping that every time he counts it's the same number that he sent out. Then, after one mission to San Pietro, the company was attacked and Jeb and his men in the Haunted Tank didn't return. They tell the captain that the Haunted Tank is pinned down in the area by a squad of Panzers. One of the wounded, Lt. Thomas, tells Jamison that he wants to go back out and help them, as there is no one from the company left to send out. Capt. Jamison walks over to Lt. Thomas' tank and climbs aboard, telling the crew that he's taking over. It's time he got out from behind the desk and into the action. Jamison and his tank arrive at San Pietro around midnight, and the town is as silent as a grave. He orders his driver to keep going, and then explosions erupt all around them. They've been spotted! The tank takes a hard right to circle the town and come in from the unguarded rear. As they enter the town, they spot a Panzer pinning down a tank trying to break out. Jamison orders for them to attack, and his gunner fires and destroys the Panzer. He orders for his men to take prisoners, but he can only hear the screams of the trapped Germans burning alive in the flaming Panzer. They keep going, and eventually come across another one of their tanks. Jamison recognizes it as Lt. Phillips' tank, but as they get nearer he can see that the crew had burned alive trying to escape the fiery tank. Jamison is sickened by the stench of burning flesh, but manages to order his driver to keep going. Around the corner they find another tank, and this time its commander, Lt. Taylor, had survived the attack. Jamison shouts at Taylor, but the lieutenant is dazed and begins to run towards Jamison's tank firing his pistol. Jamison shouts for Taylor to get out of the way but it's too late- the man is crushed under the treads. Jamison is horrified by the accident, barely able to keep himself together. Then, he hears the sounds of shellfire nearby. Jamison and his tank head towards the sound. It's Jeb Stuart and his tank, pinned by the river as two Panzers move in for the kill. Jamison orders his gunner to fire, and one of the Panzers is destroyed. The second one swings around its turret and fires, hitting Jamison's tank on the side. The armor piercing shell rips into the side of the tank, killing everyone inside. Jameson reaches down to try and help the driver, but finds the man decapitated. Lt. Stuart reaches the burning tank and tries to pull Capt. Jamison from the wreckage, but the man refuses as he tries to recover the dog tags from the dead soldiers. Jeb forces the man out just in time before the tank explodes. The next day, after the Infantry had entered and secured the town of San Pietro, Jamison and the crew of the Haunted Tank have returned to headquarters. Jamison sits down at his desk to write the letters to the families of the men lost in San Pietro. He went out into battle to experience it first hand, so that he could write the truth. But the truth to his men's deaths were too horrific even for him. He decides it would be best to stick to the form letter, and keep the truths to himself. | Editor4_1 = Murray Boltinoff | Writer4_1 = Robert Kanigher | Penciler4_1 = Sam Glanzman | Inker4_1 = | Colourist4_1 = Jerry Serpe | Letterer4_1 = Gaspar Saladino | Appearing4 = Featured Characters: * Captain J.J. Jamison "Skipper" Supporting Characters: * ** ** ** ** Antagonists: * German Artillery soldiers Other Characters: * Lieutenant Thomas * Lieutenant Goldman * Lieutenant Phillips * Lieutenant Taylor * American Artillery soldiers * American Field medics Locations: * San Pietro, Items: * Ink pen Vehicles: * * Panzerkampfwagen IV | Notes = | Trivia = * The fourth story "Dead Letter Office" takes place during the Battle of San Pietro, which was a major engagement from 8–17 December 1943, in the Italian Campaign of World War II. | Recommended = | Links = }}